Tate wants extra reps when it counts for Texans, not now

2of2Nobody has doubted running back Ben Tate's ability once he gets the ball. It's keeping him healthy and on the field that has been the issue.Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

Arian Foster's understudy, Ben Tate, attempted a quick Segway getaway from the practice field after the Texans' workout Wednesday, but he wasn't able to escape without first answering a few questions about what Foster's calf muscle strain, suffered during Tuesday's practice, means for him.

The short answer - Tate gave several of those - is not much. Landing extra carries in May during what the NFL calls organized team activities wasn't part of his master plan going into the final season of his Texans contract.

"OTAs are OTAs - what's there to judge from OTAs?" said Tate, standing impatiently on his parked Segway. "It's not (live) football. There's no pads. I know what I'm doing as far as the offense goes, so it's not a big deal to me like it might be if we were going into the season. It's always good to have the chance to perfect your craft, but you want extra reps (during the season), not now."

As the only other running back under contract who has played a down as a Texan, Tate definitely will be carrying a heavier load until the Pro Bowler Foster receives a full medical clearance, coach Gary Kubiak said. Foster will be on crutches "for a couple of days" before his rehab starts, and he won't practice next week or during the subsequent mid-June minicamp. But there's no reason to fear he won't be 100 percent for the Sept. 9 season opener at San Diego.

"He's hobbling today, but he's going to be fine," Kubiak said. "We've got two weeks left in the offseason, so we're obviously not going to do anything to take a risk with him. We've got two months almost before we get ready to go. He's going to be OK."

Save for his pre-camp vacation plans. The only pool Foster will be hanging out at for long in June and July is located in the Texans' training room at Reliant Stadium.

Foster didn't attend Wednesday's practice and wasn't available for comment.

Contract year crucial

As for Tate, his testiness is understandable.

He took heat from fans last season when a frustrating hamstring injury incurred late in a productive 10-carry, 47-yard effort against Baltimore sidelined him for the next four games. When a reporter asked him about missing "a lot of time" last fall - he'd also sat out the fifth week of the season - and what he might be doing proactively to avoid further hamstring issues, Tate's response was, "I missed four games. That's not a lot of time."

But he wasn't used much upon his return, carrying only 19 times over the last five games, with eight of those coming in a blowout loss to New England. With 62 rushes for 260 yards, Tate's season wasn't a total loss, but it paled in comparison to what he'd shown the previous season when he rushed for 942 yards after having missed all of 2010 because of a broken ankle.

It was that setback, after the Texans had used a second-round draft pick on Tate, that created the opening the undrafted Foster roared through in near-historic fashion, winning the NFL's rushing title with 1,616 yards. When he followed with a 1,224-yard encore season, his ship came in big time. With a monster signing bonus, Foster earned about $18 million last fall, or about $17.5 million more than Tate did.

The ex-Auburn star knows he needs touches when it counts if he's going to score in free agency, whether in Houston or elsewhere. He even admitted feeling a bit of performance anxiety as the season approaches.

"There's some pressure," Tate said.

Kubiak's new 'bell cow'

Of course, if Foster returns from this springtime setback healthy and can stay healthy, Tate won't have much control over his fate. He can't put himself into games. All he can do "is try to help the team win games" and lift his stock accordingly.

Tate's own fitness will go a long way toward determining what kind of statement he makes, Kubiak conceded.

"I just want Ben to be healthy," the coach said. "That's the biggest thing. When Ben's on the field, he's productive. He needs to have a good offseason, which he's doing. If Ben's in one piece, he's going to be very productive for this team. (Foster's injury) is an opportunity for him in these next six practices to be the bell cow so to speak, and that will be good for him in the long run."

Dale Robertson is the longest-tenured sports writer at a major daily newspaper in Texas, having spent 18 years with the Houston Post (1972-90) before joining the Houston Chronicle in the fall of 1990. His primary sports duties include covering the Texans, the Houston Marathon, the Shell Houston Open PGA tournament and the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, a stop on the ATP World Tour. He’s also the Chronicle’s wine columnist while writing occasionally about health issues and travel destinations.

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